Photographed by Bachrach

Collins ( The Story of Kodak ) entertainingly traces business and social history in this first full-length account of a famed American photography studio, founded by a German-born immigrant who recorded Lincoln at Gettysburg in 1863 and whose operations today, managed by his great-grandsons, spread throughout a dozen cities. Special posing, lighting and printing techniques account for the ``Bachrach touch,'' explains Collins, who characterizes the company's portraiture as ``intelligently flattering'' and influenced by Rembrandt. Reproduced here are pictures of U.S. presidents going back to Ulysses S. Grant; notables in many fields, from actors and athletes to scientists and musicians; socialites; and a number of unidentified subjects. As Schlesinger observes, the 132 black-and-white and color photographs tantalizingly ``depict the great flow and panorama of more than a century of American life.'' (Jan.)